PATRIOTS SPRINT AWAY FROM NITRO
Publication:
Published: 09/08/2001
Page: P1B
Headline: PATRIOTS SPRINT AWAY FROM NITRO
Byline: JIM TOCCO
FOR THE DAILY MAIL
Run a race against a faster
man and you might be able to keep up for a
few hundred yards. Wrestle against a heavier man and you might be
able to shove him back for a couple of periods.
But when that sprint becomes a marathon and that wrestling match
becomes a fight of nearly three hours, hopeful enthusiasm often falls
to grim reality.
Such was the case at Laidley Field Friday as the
Nitro Wildcats hung
with the bigger and faster George Washington Patriots for two and a
half quarters. But the third-ranked Patriots outscored Nitro 44-6
down the stretch on their way to a 65-22 victory, a final score that
would have surprised anyone who left to stand in a long concession
line during the third quarter.
What looked like a close game quickly dissolved due to GW's
size,
speed and depth - three factors that have led the Patriots to a 3-0
start.
"In the first half, Nitro had a great game plan," GW Coach Steve
Edwards Jr. said. "They picked on our corners like we thought they
would. We're still young back there, but we made a few adjustments and
the kids really hung together and they stuck to the game plan."
Nitro (1-2) did indeed come out throwing, with junior quarterback
Derek Midkiff putting the ball in the air on 13 of
the team's 27
first-half plays.
Midkiff, who came into the game as the
Conference's leading passer, threw for 123 first-half yards, including
a 63-yard home run ball to senior receiver Jon Lowe. He connected on
nine of his 13 attempts.
Meanwhile, GW quarterback Doug Foster completed as many in the first
half to the guys in white as to the guys in maroon. He was 2-for-5
during the first 24 minutes for 14 yards and two interceptions.
The Hill's passing game improved in the second half, though, as Foster
was 4-for-6 for 167 yards and two scores. The biggest strike was an
84-yard hookup with wideout Jonathan McGhee.
GW's secondary also clamped down, permitting only 65
yards in the
second half out of Nitro's high-powered attack.
Despite the swing in passing effectiveness, the game was really won on
the ground. Junior running back Cortez Lacy danced through gaps as
wide as the
ahead for 173 yards and four touchdowns.
On his longest, a 77-yard dash in the third quarter, not a single
Nitro player managed to lay a hand on him. The run was created by
senior tackle Steve Potter, who sealed off the right side. Then wide
receiver Marty Barnes held back Nitro cornerback Ryan Meadows,
allowing Lacy to make the final cut.
"The line was blocking great, and receivers were blocking downfield,"
Lacy said. "So things were going to happen."
But even as Lacy tried to sluff off the praise,
Edwards heaped it back
on.
"Cortez is a hard runner that can run inside or run outside," he
said.
"He's a good package. If he stays healthy and gets nice holes, he can
be tough... Our kids opened up some nice holes for him and I'm real
happy for him. He needed a night like tonight."
Foster even dazzled onlookers with his running, showing fans why he
might have been the best open-field runner in the stadium. He
scrambled out of the pocket in the second quarter and ran for a
67-yard touchdown, leaving most Nitro defenders holding on to nothing
but a grudge.
Even late in the game, when the Patriots brought in their second- and
third-stringers, they were able to control the game. Backups Kerel
Whitehead and Corey Megginson each ran for
fourth-quarter scores.
Too much size, too much speed and too much depth.
Edwards agreed that his team's superior depth helped to keep the team
in the lead while Nitro faded.
"We were playing seven or eight kids up front," he said. "That
helps
us a ton. We're also able to substitute a little on defense, so that
helped us out as the game went on ... Our kids that got in like to
play and it showed. It's hard to tell those guys that you're not
allowed to score."